1. Field of the Invention
With reference to the classification of art as established in and by the United States Patent Office, the present invention is believed to be found in the general class entitled, "Wireworking" (Class 140) and in the subclass therein entitled, "wire cutting and straightening-predetermined length" (subclass 140) and in the subclass entitled "crimping" (subclass 105).
2. Description of the Prior Art
With reference to the prior art, the Applicant has commercially produced for several years apparatus covered by one or more of his United States Patents for shaping and trimming electrical components including integrated circuits. These components have included transistors with two and three wire leads. When his first apparatus was brought to commercial application the material rates of five hundred to fifteen hundred components per hour was considered very acceptable. The apparatus for shaping and cutting the wire leads of the transistor was by a rotary wheel which transported the component and brought the wire leads in way of a die and trimming operation and delivered the components from the wheel to the assembly operator for mounting in an integrated circuit board. In the last few years the emphasis has been on faster apparatus to handle and to receive the circuit components and shape and trim the leads of the components for use in a circuit board. Apparatus for processing such components is exemplified in applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 4,020,880 as issued on May 3, 1977. Another patent which issued just prior to the patent identified above is U.S. Pat. No. 3,945,408 to HALLIGAN as issued on Mar. 23, 1976. In these and other apparatus and patents found in the Patent Office the speeds are slower than required for today's market so the apparatus of applicant's invention has increased speed to process components to more precisely effect shaping and trimming. The apparatus hereinafter described is usable in either a delivered array, such as produced by a hand fed operation or by a vibrating hopper by which the components are fed in an orientating manner to a gravitationally disposed chute or guideway. In the present apparatus it has been found that the gravitationally disposed chute provides a minimum amount of engagement with the component and allows a more-or-less in line, high speed operation.
This apparatus for lead forming and trimming is adapted for both hand feeding and bowl feeding. With hand feeding speeds up to three thousand components per hour may be fed through the gravity track. The bowl feed apparatus feeds up to seventy two hundred components per hour. The all-electric drive is infinitely variable with the die station adapted for removal and replacement of the dies. The processed transistors are disposed or accummulated in a bin or drawer and the scrap lead ends are collected for disposal in another bin or drawer. The apparatus is protected by a cover which is easily removed for repair, maintanence and changes. The apparatus is designed for long maintenance-free life and with electronic feed totalizing and predetermined counting may be made. Usually the components are electrical transistors with plastic bodied and with one side of said body having a performed flat. This permits a form of the leads to be made for insertion in a preselected manner into a printed circuit board. The forming of the leads are a matter of selection and preference.
In the following application the electrical components to be processed for insertion into printed circuit boards include transistors and the like in which the wire leads are disposed in a common plane or line so that the component may be advanced resting on the base of the body and the wire leads extend downwardly in a slot or gap guideway which is of a given width such as thirty-five thousandths of an inch. These electrical components in the description to be hereinafter made are identified as "components".